I have two interchangeable libraries that implicitly define the same object (RTC) and are therefore mutually exclusive. I want to include one or the other, based on a #defined value. The code below seems to act as though both libraries are being included. If I explicitly comment one library or the other out with "//" then I can get it to compile.

That implies that the preprocessor is handling the conditionals correctly. Hmmmmm.

Do you have code somewhere else, like in another tab, that might be compiling too?

Nope, the code I posted is everything, single tab. The problem originally occurred in a larger project with multiple tabs, but I like to pare things down to the minimum that still exhibits the issue. Better for the forum I figure too.

This is a well documented and well known failing of the Arduino IDE preprocessor. It doesn't respect (or simply ignores) the preprocessor conditionals, and will aggressively match any line starting with #include for a library inclusion.

It's been reported as a problem for years. Like many other problems with the IDE preprocessor, Team Arduino don't think it's a big deal, apparently, so it's not going to be fixed.

My solution is to simply not use the IDE to avoid the numerous bugs and problems in the IDE preprocessor altogether. I use makefiles that do the build. I need to declare my own prototypes, and put a list of user libraries I'm using in a makefile script for that project. Done. No IDE preprocessor. Real C/C++ preprocessor directives all work as expected again. Life is better that way.

This is a well documented and well known failing of the Arduino IDE preprocessor. It doesn't respect (or simply ignores) the preprocessor conditionals, and will aggressively match any line starting with #include for a library inclusion.

It's been reported as a problem for years. Like many other problems with the IDE preprocessor, Team Arduino don't think it's a big deal, apparently, so it's not going to be fixed.

Understood, thanks. Guess I'd missed that one.

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My solution is to simply not use the IDE to avoid the numerous bugs and problems in the IDE preprocessor altogether. I use makefiles that do the build. I need to declare my own prototypes, and put a list of user libraries I'm using in a makefile script for that project. Done. No IDE preprocessor. Real C/C++ preprocessor directives all work as expected again. Life is better that way.

I've read various threads on this approach, and made a couple half-hearted attempts but didn't stick to it long enough to get it working. I'd probably be happier working that way, too. Declaring prototypes is another thing I don't appreciate the IDE doing for me; it doesn't always get it right.